If we test positive, is it a refund or a rebook?

[Jetku]

My daughter tested positive today (asymptomatic) so seems like we won’t be on the wish Monday. Can’t speak about the emotions right now.

But I plan to call DCL tomorrow. If we rebook, do they give us the same category? Or do we have to pay the difference? We booked this cruise the day that reservations opened, so I fear it would be a material price increase to book another date.

Any experiences would be appreciated.

 

[cvjw]

You can get a refund or rebook with a positive covid test.

 

[soniam]

I am so sorry. I hope she continues to do OK. This would be under the 14 day cancellation due to covid policy/Flexible Refund Policy, ignoring any insurance you may have. You can change your sailing to cruise by 9/30/23, or you can get a full refund, minus the DCL insurance policy costs.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/featured/book-with-confidence/

 

[Cheburashka]

I've had to do this a few times (I work in a high-exposure field), have always requested a refund and have always received the money back to my account within days.

I'm sure that if you choose to rebook to a different cruise, you will have to pay prevailing prices. In your shoes, if you're hoping to rebook to a cruise that is coming up relatively soon, I would get a refund for this one, and look for a GT rate (a discounted non-cancellable rate- though of course if Covid happens again you'd still get all your money back). GT gives you about a 30% discount. They're not available on every single cruise, but they're pretty common right now due to the ships not being completely full due to Covid. You can only book GT if it's a new reservation, which is why I would cancel this one, first.

 

[EddieK76]

I've had to do this a few times (I work in a high-exposure field), have always requested a refund and have always received the money back to my account within days.

I'm sure that if you choose to rebook to a different cruise, you will have to pay prevailing prices. In your shoes, if you're hoping to rebook to a cruise that is coming up relatively soon, I would get a refund for this one, and look for a GT rate (a discounted non-cancellable rate- though of course if Covid happens again you'd still get all your money back). GT gives you about a 30% discount. They're not available on every single cruise (and won't be available on the Wish), but they're pretty common right now due to the ships not being completely full due to Covid. You can only book GT if it's a new reservation, which is why I would cancel this one, first.

FYI there are Wish cruises with GT availability. My 9/5 sailing has them available for Verandah rooms for sure.

 

[lanejudy]

You have a choice of full refund (minus insurance) or credit towards a rebook. If you choose to rebook, it is prevailing rates and you would need to pay any difference if rates have increased.

 

[HunterGatherer]

This happened to us. You can either rebook at prevailing rates or get your money back. In our case we rebooked 1 week out and it was a more expensive cruise and we had to pay over $1000 more. If it is a cheaper cruise, you would get the difference back.

One thing to note, make sure the test is an official test and you have paperwork. That starts the 10 window. If on the 11th day you have a positive test, you can get a 90 day recovery letter from your doctor and that gets you an exemption to the covid testing.

It was really stressful and last minute when it happened to us, but we made it work. Also, when you call, expect to be on the phone a long time. I had to wait on hold for a couple hours to speak with the first agent. They were very nice and accommodating, but was not the person that has the ability to rebook. I then had to wait about another hour to speak with the manager that was very accommodating and did the rebook. Also, if you prebooked any excersions/activities, if they are available, they will transfer. If they are not, you not be able to do them, but won't lose any money.

 

[Cheburashka]

One thing to note, make sure the test is an official test and you have paperwork. That starts the 10 window. If on the 11th day you have a positive test, you can get a 90 day recovery letter from your doctor and that gets you an exemption to the covid testing.

It was really stressful and last minute when it happened to us, but we made it work. Also, when you call, expect to be on the phone a long time. I had to wait on hold for a couple hours to speak with the first agent. They were very nice and accommodating, but was not the person that has the ability to rebook.

If you're cancelling due to the 14 day flexible refund policy, you do not need any documentation at all. You just tell them over the phone and they will cancel immediately. (I understand you're wanting the OP to be able to get a 90 day recovery letter to use to get to avoid pre-cruise testing for a future cruise, but want to make sure the OP understands that no documentation is required for cancelling this cruise.)

Calling to cancel does not have to take very long. Call, and dial option 3 for "book a new cruise" (the CM's won't know or care which option you pressed) and the wait won't be long, and the person you speak to will be able to handle the cancellation quickly.

If rebooking takes longer, then imo that is just another reason why it's better to get your money back and then rebook on your own. There is really no advantage to letting DCL hang onto your money and having them rebook for you. It limits your options.

 

[Kwami]

There is really no advantage to letting DCL hang onto your money and having them rebook for you. It limits your options.

There might be some advantages. I had to rebook a cruise last winter because of some bad weather and my TA did everything over the phone with Disney. So, I didn't have to do anything and he only had to make one phone call instead of two. Also, the onboard gift that my parents had purchased for the initial cruise on the Fantasy made its way over to the Dream two days later and so did our onboard credits from my TA. I don't think those items would have made it if we'd rebooked on our own instead of having Disney do it.

 

[Cheburashka]

There might be some advantages. I had to rebook a cruise last winter because of some bad weather and my TA did everything over the phone with Disney. So, I didn't have to do anything and he only had to make one phone call instead of two. Also, the onboard gift that my parents had purchased for the initial cruise on the Fantasy made its way over to the Dream two days later and so did our onboard credits from my TA. I don't think those items would have made it if we'd rebooked on our own instead of having Disney do it.

I'm glad that worked out for you, but most people don't have an online gift given by someone else, so that's a very uncommon consideration. A much more common consideration is restarting the clock for money to become nonrefundable, which happens when you cancel and get a refund. Also, if you cancel, you can book a GT rate, which you can't do without cancelling.

 

[Kwami]

I'm glad that worked out for you, but most people don't have an online gift given by someone else, so that's a very uncommon consideration. A much more common consideration is restarting the clock for money to become nonrefundable, which happens when you cancel and get a refund. Also, if you cancel, you can book a GT rate, which you can't do without cancelling.

Sure, everyone needs to evaluate their own situation. I was just pointing out that sometimes it's better not to cancel.

 

[Cheburashka]

FYI there are Wish cruises with GT availability. My 9/5 sailing has them available for Verandah rooms for sure.

No, those are GTY rooms, not GT. GT is discounted and restricted, and GTY is not.

 

[EddieK76]

No, those are GTY rooms, not GT. GT is discounted and restricted, and GTY is not.

There was yesterday when I looked. It's now just GT. Just like the 19k Royal Suite was available yesterday.